New mum blog: A night out without baby is like a going out without an arm

There are few things more exciting than having your first baby. Sentinel journalist Catherine Ball, aged 29, who lives in Newcastle, gave birth to Sophie, at 3.35pm on Friday, March 27. She is sharing her experiences in a weekly blog...

SOPHIE may only be three months old but it is already hard to remember what life was like without her.

My husband and I ventured out for our first evening out without her in tow and it was a very strange sensation - almost like going out without your own right arm.

Up until our little trip out the longest I'd been away from her had been an hour and that had hardly been a pleasure as it was while I had surgery after the birth.

Of course spontaneous dates with the other half are now a thing of the past as just a simple trip to the theatre require military-style planning.

I had to enlist babysitters - luckily my parents were happy to step in and stay a bit longer during their weekly visit - and remember to express some milk in the morning when my supply is at its most abundant.

I was a little bit nervous she might not take a bottle as it had been some weeks since I'd tried and she'd only ever been given one while I was there.

But after giving her a quick last minute breast-feed, we made it out the door and we were free - for a couple of short hours at least. But the whole experience felt more strange than liberating. I'm so used to constantly looking over to check what Sophie is up to that it felt like I was forgetting something important but I did manage to relax and shut off for probably the first time since she was born.

I didn't dare make a call home in the interval as I thought I wouldn't be able to bear it if I heard her crying and I knew if anything important happened my parents would call.

I needn't have worried - when I arrived home she was lying in her play gym as happy as Larry showing off her latest skills of picking up and holding her toys. She'd guzzled down the paltry amount of milk I'd managed to express and when she realised there wasn't any more had a quick nap before waking up raring to play.

It was a massive relief as it has made us realise we will be able to snatch the odd moment as a couple without having to wait for her to grow up and leave home.

I've already started to plot a weekend away when I finally stop breast-feeding although that is a long way off at the moment. But whether I'll be able to bear to leave her for more than an evening is another story altogether.